Even if he's in pain, Red Wings forward Daniel Cleary doesn't like showing it on the ice.

But this time, during Wednesday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks in Game 5, there was no hiding it.

Cleary was slammed into the boards by Anaheim forward Daniel Winnik at 14:15 of the second period, leaving Cleary crumbled on the ice in obvious pain.

"Sore, the whole left side was sore," said Cleary, who lay on the ice briefly before slowly skating off the ice with help. "Shoulder, hand, ribs and neck."

Amazingly, Cleary returned for the start of the third period and finished the game with 17 minutes of ice time on 20 shifts.

Cleary was playing the puck in the corner when Winnik came roaring in on him.

"It did," Cleary said when asked whether the play surprised him. "I didn't see him coming at all. Then, you know, it hurt."

After undergoing tests during the intermission, Cleary was cleared to play after getting time to rest.

"I had to come in and do some testing and see the docs," Cleary said. "In the playoffs everybody plays through something."

It was apparent the pain was still bothering Cleary after the game.

"You could say that," Cleary said.

The pain was made worse by a Red Wings loss that leaves them one defeat from the off-season.

"We let one slip away for sure," Cleary said. "We played well but (now) you have to win Friday. We played a good game tonight."

For the hit to Cleary, Winnik was given a five-minute major. But the Red Wings came up empty on the power play and Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf, who drew a penalty that ended the Red Wings advantage, scored on the resulting Anaheim power play.